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1924 ALVIS 12/ 50 SB Ducksback
Chassis no. 2786 Car no. 8121
I am delighted to offer for sale, this particular Alvis 12/ 50, with an interesting Australian history and huge amount of recent work completed, it represents; as all 12/ 50 models do, excellent value, high quality, vintage motoring at a fraction of the cost of many vintage cars of its era.
I purchased the car last year, and whilst it looked somewhat down at heel, one could see the potential to return the car, to a condition suited to such a well-respected marque.
Like so many Alvis, 2786 was exported as a rolling chassis to Australia, indeed the country proved to be a lucrative export market for the maker, with Sydney based, Williams bros Ltd, claiming that one fifth of all British cars sold in Australia, during 1923, were Alvis!
A rare early subframe car 2786 was likely originally bodied with a Super Sports touring body and featured the longer wheelbase, slender chassis and twin shoe rear brakes.
With so many Alvis in Australia, it was inevitable that many cars were both raced and rallied, with many wins in reliability trials and a 12/ 50 coming third, in the 1928 Australian Grand Prix, just behind a type40 and 37 Bugatti! From the information I have found, some parts of 2786 were later used in the well known ‘Lithgow’ special which was later broken up and the chassis of 2786 rebuilt into the Ducksback we see now, and known as the Dungowan 12/ 50, whatever the exact detail of events, the car was saved and later exported to the UK.
Whilst some works had been attended to, since the arrival of 2786 to the UK, the fit and overall finish were poor, so we have embarked on a series of improvements throughout the car.
Mechanically we have checked the car over, re-wired where necessary and corrected any poorly made or un-safe work previously carried out.
It had a disappointing exhaust, running under the car, when purchased and all Ducksback have to have that large external, statement pipe! so we had a new exhaust and brackets formed, it now looks as good as it sounds!
The original wings were poorly constructed, so a new set have been fabricated in Aluminium, closely replicating the original design and set with new stays and altered running boards, much more in-keeping and beautifully constructed.
A new V windscreen in brass compliments the wings and was based on an early picture of a 12/ 50 racing at Brooklands.
The interior had ghastly plastic trim, which we removed and the interior now boasts a high- quality re-trim in a deep Burgundy leather, which sets off the new dashboard, with its compliment of correct gauges, these include a new Smiths ma temperature gauge and Bosch ignition switch and horn button.
The wheels have also just been shod with a new set of correct Lucas tyres from Longstones.
In summary, a fine early example of a 12/ 50, a model so often seen competing with the VSCC and of course in period.
Now recommissioned with lots of expenditure, 2786 is ready for new adventures, with its next custodian.
